Renovation work lacked permits at burned-out building

It appears renovation work, without proper permits, had either started or was about to start at 390 Cabot St.

Bobby Gates

A fire that ripped through a six-unit apartment building on Wednesday caused an estimated $400,000 worth of damage and left 20 residents homeless.

The building inspector is looking into renovation work on two third-floor units, where the fire started, that had either begun or was about to begin without permits being issued.

It was the worst fire in Beverly since May, when a building at the Cherry Hill condominiums on Duck Pond Road burned.

All of the residents from 390 Cabot St. — in the Gloucester Crossing neighborhood — are either staying with friends or relatives or are in hotel rooms, said Cynthia Quinn, the interim executive director of the American Red Cross of Northeast Massachusetts.

Fire Capt. Peter O’Connor said the cause of the fire remains under investigation and that more about the cause may be released on Monday. O’Connor said an earlier report that the fire was suspicious was not correct. The state fire marshal was called to investigate; something O’Connor said is standard procedure.

Some building residents said they were alerted to the fire by two off-duty police officers banging on doors. But they didn’t hear the alarms sounding, they said.

O’Connor said that when firefighters, including himself, arrived they heard the alarms sounding. The fire was at first burning above the third floor ceiling and below the roof — above where smoke detectors are located.

Some residents said that work was being done to the ceilings in the two third-floor units, including the vacant unit where smoke was first seen pouring from the eves above it.

Building inspector Steve Frederickson said he had inspected the building after the fire and he “didn't see any sign of recent interior alterations, with the possible exception of new drywall ceilings on the third floor.”

There was new drywall stacked in the upstairs of the building, “which suggests that they may have intended to do some work.”

There have been “no recent building or electrical permits issued,” Fredrickson said. “However, this was difficult to confirm because of the fire damage.”

The most recent building permit issued for the building was on Nov. 7, 2000 for a $6,200 reroofing job, according to city records. Before that, an unspecified project worth $5,500 was issued a permit on Jan. 21, 1998 and another unspecified project valued at $3,000 on Nov. 1, 1982.

There had also been some wiring work done in the building “over the years” without a permit, Frederickson said.

Building owner John Mancini answered his cell phone when the Citizen called on Friday, but said he could not talk.

“I’m on a cell, I’ve got a bad connection,” he said, although the Citizen reporter could hear him perfectly well.

From the exterior, Mancini appears to have kept up the building well. It had fresh paint and it appeared neat and clean from the street.

City Councilor John Burke, who represents the neighborhood, said he has met several times with Mancini and he has always been responsive and cooperative. But Burke said he had not been able to reach Mancini after the fire. Burke said he had toured some apartments in other neighborhood buildings that Mancini had bought at the same time he bought 390 Cabot St. in June, and said they had new floors and walls.

The building at 390 Cabot St. was built in 1900 and valued at $672,100, according to city assessor records.

Quinn, of the Red Cross, said it would likely cost about $20,000 to provide the food, clothes, first month’s rent, bedding, metal health counseling, prescription medication and eyeglasses needed to get the fire victims back on their feet.

“Some of them are staying with family and friends and some of them were put up in hotels,” Quinn said.

The search is on to find permanent housing for the building’s former residents, Quinn said, noting that each of the units had four bedrooms.

“Some of these people will need a pretty big apartment,” Quinn said.

Beverly Citizen

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